Italy has seized a £97 million property complex owned by Russia's official richest man Alexei Mordashov, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office said on Friday.

Italy's operation to seize the building complex on the Mediterranean island was part of a broad, Western drive to penalise wealthy Russians linked to President Vladimir Putin following the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

It was the second time this month that assets belonging to Mordashov, reputed to be Russia's richest man, have been seized in Italy. Police on March 4 impounded his 215 ft yacht, the 'Lady M', which had a price tag of 65 million euros.

The news followed reports that the European Union is considering using assets seized from Russian oligarchs to help fund Ukraine's recovery efforts, as Vladimir Putin continues to lay siege to several of the country's major cities.

Such a scheme is still in its early stages, but sources in Brussels said one possibility would be to sell the assets in order to fun war reparations, which are unlikely to be forthcoming from Moscow. 

Mordashov, 56, is the son of a mill worker who became a steel magnate with estimated net worth of $29.1 billion. He is believed to be the richest man in Russia, apart from possibly Vladimir Putin himself - whose true wealth is unknown. 

Mordashov is also reportedly the president of Severgroup, an investment management company, and a shareholder in Bank Rossiya, which hit by US government sanctions over being 'Putin's bank', according to the Financial Times.

Provided by Daily Mail Italy has seized a £97 million property complex owned by Russia's official richest man Alexei Mordashov (pictured in 2018, file photo), Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office said on

Provided by Daily Mail Pictured: Panoramic view of yacht marina and port of Portisco resort town in Sardinia, where Mordashov's £97 million property complex has been sized by the Italian government

In the last two weeks, Italian police have sequestered villas and yachts worth more than 780 million of euros from seven wealthy Russians who were placed on a European Union sanctions lists following the assault on Ukraine.

The most valuable asset seized so far is a superyacht owned by billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, which is worth around 530 million euros and was impounded in the northern port of Trieste last Saturday.

The other Russians targeted so far in Italy are Alisher Usmanov, Vladimir Soloviev, Gennady Timchenko, Oleg Savchenko, Petr Aven.

According to Bloomberg, such assets could be used to help Ukraine recover from the war which, after less than a month, has seen widespread death and destruction - particularly in the country's east.

The outlet added that any decision over what to do with seized assets would ultimately fall to the EU's member states.

Eric Mamer, spokesman for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told Bloomberg: 'At this point the assets are only frozen. The president has not asked for this to be explored.'

Provided by Daily Mail It was the second time this month that assets belonging to Mordashov, reputed to be Russia's richest man, have been seized in Italy. Police on March 4 impounded his 215 ft yacht, the 'Lady M' (pictured), which had a price tag of 65 million euros

Provided by Daily Mail Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) points as billionaire and businessman, owner of Severstal steel company Alexei Mordashov (left) looks on while visiting a college on February 4, 2020 in Cherepovets, Russia

Under EU sanctions, as well as similar schemes put in place by the likes of the US and the UK, Russian assets belonging to Russian oligarchs can be frozen.

On Thursday, the EU also announced that it was creating a 'freeze and seize' taskforce to share information among member states, and to implement the sanctions more effectively.

The bloc has said it will also cooperate with the Group of Seven (G7) countries on REPO (the 'Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs' task force), Bloomberg reported.

There is a growing concern over Ukraine's ability to withstand Russia's assault for much longer. Some cities, such as the port city of Mariupol, are under siege. 

Moscow's armies are preventing aid from reaching the thousands of people still inside the city, while also preventing people from escaping. 

According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Saturday, Ukraine has evacuated 190,000 civilians from front line areas via humanitarian corridors since the start of the war.